Today's Mulberry show, held at noon in Claridge's, begun, as has become tradition, with a Bloody Mary-fuelled drinks reception where air kissing and catwalk catch-ups create a hubbub that whips up pre-show excitement to fever pitch.

One of the buzzier events on the LFW calendar, it's quite an occasion even before the clothes reach the catwalk.

Today though, the anticipation was perhaps even more tangible, given that this was to be Creative Director Emma Hill's last for the British design house.

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She's back! Cara Delevingne leads out the models at Mulberry creative director Emma Hill's last show

Best accessory: Turbo the Mulberry bulldog was one of the stars of the show

Contrast: Nubuck and suede introduced gentle structure while bold blooms on silk brought a country garden feel. I loved the bold orange platforms, which picked out orange splashes throughout the collection

New favourite: The Willow given an update for SS14 with embroidery

Want...it...now: Clutch in fiery orange

Hill announced her departure from the
company in June, making this her swansong collection. The moodboard,
which in these plugged-in times was shared by Mulberry via email and
social networking before the show, spoke of quintessentially English tea
time, ditzy florals in china print tempered by soft pinks, blues and
greys.

Then
came bolder florals - big blooms on silk tees and dresses, smaller
prints on a clutch. The colour palette was bold but streamlined - blue,
orange, cream, white, grey - with those same hues running through print
and trim.

Nappa leather
shirts, trousers, skirts and jackets provided gentle structure with a
hint of edge. I loved a striped tee in midnight blue Nappa suede and its
matching skirt, also the elegant cream embroidered coats and pyjama silk
trousers and floaty blouses.

This
being Mulberry, bags were standout too. The popular Willow was
reincarnated in silky midnight blue calf, embroidered with white raffia
flowers or in Nubuck stripes.

The show, which played out to a
soundtrack including Madness's Our House, a bit of Queen and the
children's party song, If You're Happy And You Know It, saw models step
through elegant doorways covered with ivy and climbing white roses,
bringing a stately home country garden feel to the hotel's interior.

The
show notes said Mulberry 'revisited the style attitude 'Le Style
Anglais' with its laid back interpretation of heritage luxury'.

'The
new season is both town and country: the collection was influenced by
modernist overtones from Sixties London juxtaposed with the opulence of a
quintessential English country house and gardens,' they said.

'In
its style and attitude the collection embraced both familiarity and
modernity, working with classic prints and textures reinterpreted to
create new season signatures imbued with Mulberry's inherent British
wit.'

Swansong: Creative Director Emma Hill walks out onto the catwalk to take a bow for the last time at Mulberry

It came to a
close to a rousing rendition of Land Of Hope And Glory, which saw fashion commentator Hilary
Alexander jigging along in time to the music.

But Liz Jones, who was still
reeling after being accosted for a photo by a fan after the show ('I
don't usually get people telling me they like me!') said she would have
hoped for Hill to go out on more of a high.

'I didn't think it was her best, to be honest,' said the Daily Mail fashion columnist. 'There was a lot of very sticky out fabric.

'Some of the coats were nice, but there was some very thick fabric that is not easy to wear. The shoes were quite clumpy too.'

But the celebrities, who are, after all the ones with the money to buy it, were more enamoured with the designs, with Alexa Chung declaring that she loved it all.

For her part, Hill proved just how those 'tricky' fabrics and pieces should be worn when she stepped out to take her final bow.

She wore a midnight blue Nappa leather jacket, cropped, short fur sleeves, with her jeans.

Bowing out in style.

Special thanks toJaguar and Murray Chauffeur Service for driving the Femail team around during London Fashion Week.